Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection eComments Requested Extension of a Previously Approved Collection; Death-in-Custody Reporting Act Program Collection, 41471-41472 [2024-10278]

Agencies

• Department of Justice

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 93 (Monday, May 13, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41471-41472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10278]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

[OMB Number 1121-0365]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed eCollection 
eComments Requested Extension of a Previously Approved Collection; 
Death-in-Custody Reporting Act Program Collection

AGENCY: Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, 
Department of Justice

ACTION: 60-day notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Justice Assistance, Department of Justice (DOJ), 
will be submitting the following information collection request to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for 60 days until 
July 12, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have comments especially on the 
estimated public burden or associated response time, suggestions, or 
need a copy of the proposed information collection instrument with 
instructions or additional information, please contact: James Steyee, 
Program Analyst (DCRA) at [email protected] or telephone: 202-
880-7420.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Written comments and suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of 
information are encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of 
the following four points:

--Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Bureau of Justice 
Statistics, including whether the information will have practical 
utility;
--Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
--Evaluate whether and if so how the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected can be enhanced; and
--Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are 
to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submission of responses.

    Abstract: To comply with the mandate of the Death in Custody 
Reporting Act (Public Law 113-242), BJA is requestion an extension of 
its DCRA data collection form (which has been in place since the 
beginning of FY 2020 and requires states to report certain information 
about each reportable death in their state to the BJA. The DCRA Program 
requires State Administering Agencies (SAA) to collect and submit 
information regarding the death of any person who is detained, under 
arrest, or is in the process of being arrested, is en route to be 
incarcerated, or is incarcerated at a municipal or county jail, State 
prison, State-run boot camp prison, boot camp prison that is contracted 
out by the State, any State or local contract facility, or other local 
or State correctional facility (including any juvenile facility) (PL 
113-242).
    For purposes of this notice, the term ``reportable death'' means 
any death that the DCRA Program or the Department's guidelines require 
States to report. Generally, these are deaths that occurred during 
interactions with law enforcement personnel or while the decedent was 
in their custody or in the custody, under the supervision, or under the 
jurisdiction of a State or local law enforcement or correctional 
agency, such as a jail or prison and further defined in BJA's DCRA 
Reporting Guidance and FAQ as well as its DCRA Compliance Guidelines.
    The DCRA requires states to submit all known reportable deaths on a 
quarterly basis using an online data collection form in the Performance 
Measurement Tool (PMT). States may back-report deaths not previously 
known to them as well as correct and revising records with missing or 
unknown information each quarter.

Overview of This Information Collection

    Type of Information Collection: Extension of a previously approved 
collection.
    1. The Title of the Form/Collection: Death in Custody Reporting Act 
Program Collection.
    2. Form number: DCR-1 and DCR-1A.
    DCR-1 (Quarterly Summary). This summary form requires States to 
either (1) identify all known reportable deaths that occurred in their 
jurisdiction during the corresponding quarter, or (2) affirm that no 
reportable deaths occurred in the State during the reporting period.
    For each quarter in a fiscal year, a State must complete the 
Quarterly Summary (Form DCR-1) and submit it by the reporting deadline. 
The Quarterly Summary an accounting of all reportable deaths that 
occurred in the State during the corresponding quarter. If a State did 
not have a reportable death during the quarter, the State must so 
indicate on the Quarterly Summary. The reporting deadline to submit the 
Quarterly Summary is the last day of the month following the close of 
the quarter. For each quarter, BJA will send two reminders prior to the 
reporting deadline. Example. The second quarter of a fiscal year is 
January 1-March 31. The deadline to submit the second quarter Quarterly 
Summary (DCR-1) is April 30. BJA will send a reminder to States on or 
around March 31 and April 15.

[[Page 41472]]

    DCR-1A (Incident Report). This incident report form requires States 
to provide additional information for each reportable death identified 
in the Quarterly Summary that occurred during interactions with law 
enforcement personnel or while in their custody. For each reportable 
death identified in the Quarterly Summary, a State must complete and 
submit by the same reporting deadline an Incident Report (Form DCR-1A), 
which contains specific information on the circumstances of the death 
and additional characteristics of the decedent. These include:
 The decedent's name, year of birth, gender, race, and 
ethnicity.
 The date of facility admission/arrest
 Date of death and time of death
 Location of the death including location name and address and 
facility type
 Name of the department or agency that detained, arrested, or 
was in the process of arresting the deceased
 Manner of death (or if unavailable due to and ongoing 
investigation, the name of the agency conducting the investigation)
 Description of the circumstances leading to the death.
    States must answer all questions on the Incident Report before they 
can submit the form. If the State does not have sufficient information 
to complete one of the questions, then the State may select the 
``unknown'' answer, if available, and then identify when the 
information is anticipated to be obtained.
    3. Component: Bureau Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of 
Justice.
    4. Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as the obligation to respond: State (Primary) and Local Agencies 
(secondary). The obligation to respond is mandatory to comply with the 
DCRA (PL 113-242).
    5. Total Estimated Number of Respondents: For purposes of this 
collection, the term ``State'' includes any State of the United States, 
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin 
Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Thus, 
the affected public that will be asked to respond on a quarterly basis 
each federal fiscal year includes the State Administering Agencies in 
each of the 56 States and Territories. These SAAs will be requesting 
information from approximately 19,450 state and local law enforcement 
agencies (LEAs), 56 state and territorial departments of corrections, 
and about 2,800 local adult jail jurisdictions. Not all jurisdictions 
will be required to report a death every quarter dependent upon whether 
they experience any reportable deaths.
    6. Estimated Time per Respondent: For purposes of this burden 
calculation, it is estimated that for each fiscal year there will be a 
total of 1,481 reportable deaths by 950 LEAs, 919 reportable deaths by 
about 335 jails, and 3,360 reportable deaths by nearly 540 prisons.
    For FY 2024 and beyond, the total projected respondent burden is:
    States estimated time to complete DCR-1 each quarter: 4 hrs. * 4 
quarters * 56 state = 896 hours.
    State estimated time to review and submit DCR-1A each quarter for 
each death: .25 hrs. * 7500 estimated deaths per year = 1875 hours
    LEAs estimated time to complete DCR-1A on behalf of state: 950 
estimated LEA * 4 quarters * .75 hours = 2850 hours.
    Jails estimated time to complete DCR-1A on behalf of state: 335 
estimated jails * 4 quarters * .75 hours = 1005 hours.
    Prison estimated time to complete DCRA-1A on behalf of state: 540 
estimated prisons * 4 quarters * .75 hours = 1620 hours.
    7. Frequency: Quarterly.
    8. Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 8246 hours.
    9. Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $294,134 ($35.67/hour 
* 8246 hours).
    If additional information is required contact: Darwin Arceo, 
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, 
Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Two 
Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE, 4W-218, Washington, DC.

    Dated: May 7, 2024.
Darwin Arceo,
Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2024-10278 Filed 5-10-24; 8:45 am]
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